Convincing
by Kata2
Summary: "If you can make him participate in this, how difficult can the rest of them be?" If Hermione wouldn't know better, she was sure McGonagall had winked at her. It was frightening. "And with 'him' you mean…?" - Hermione wants to change the Hogwarts' system but needs to gain Draco's support first. Post-Hogwarts. Epilogue ignored.
1. Traditions

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot, you know the drill.**

**Also, if there is someone who wants to beta this, I'd be glad, as I'm not a native speaker (although I study English at university ;P) **

**Reviews keep me happy =)**

After standing in front of the door for more than five minutes considering her arguments and trying to remain calm, she finally knocked.

Now she couldn't get out of this anymore. I mean, yes, she could still disapparate, but then it would be all in vain. She had worked so hard for this, well, not for _this exactly_, but after all it was just a means to an end. And this end was worth it, right? Right, she told herself. Even if she would make a total fool out of herself and this wouldn't work out… But it had to work out! It better did. And if not, at least she had tried. Great, how often did she have to tell this to herself over the course of the last two days? Does wonders to your self-confidence, really. It's like a participant's certificate in an athletics competition – she came in last, but showed great effort. Wonderful, what else could she dream of? But seriously, just how long could it take to open a damn door?

Oh Merlin, how did end up here again? Ah, right, yeah…

* * *

><p>"Of course I see your point, Hermione, but…"<p>

"If you understand, then why won't you consider it for just a moment?" she interrupted and added "Please?" as an afterthought.

Minerva sighed. "Because it's tradition, dear. You can't – we can't just go ahead and change everything in such a drastic way. Hogwarts has a long history, the houses have existed for over a thousand years, the founders divided the student body for reasons, but who am I telling this? Hermione, I'm glad that you are so concerned with the wizarding world's future, but I fear this is not up for debating."

It's tradition, yeah. That's what Harry and Ron had told her, when she came up with her idea. Only then, right after the war, it has been just that – an idea, not more. But now, she had a plan. Winning over McGonagall was the first step, but as it seemed this alone was even more difficult than she had thought.

"Yes, I know that." Hermione said through clenched teeth. "But over the last years there has been so much change. So much _progress_. I really think it would be for the best. Voldemort is gone, but who says there aren't others like him? Where did his followers come from? I mean – not a few of our own classmates supported him and his racist ideas quite openly even before he came back." All too well did she remember Malfoy and his friends calling her "Mudblood" in her first year. The scar his mad aunt left on her forearm didn't help to get over it either.

"The ministry has gone through a lot of reforms by now", she went on, "and Kingsley and the rest of the Order take great effort in fighting corruption and everything there. But wouldn't you think that it would be best not to fight this pureblood ideology in made-up minds, but right at its root? Where it begins? Children are so much more susceptible to sense."

"And to manipulation, if I might add, yes."

"Yes.", Hermione added sadly. "We have seen that, of course. But what we would try now is not to manipulate, but to educate them. I mean, why is potions an obligatory subject, but not muggle studies? Especially after Voldemort's first disappearance? If the pureblood wizards would just learn more about muggles, they would see that they aren't that different! Or at least the muggleborn witches and wizards." Of course, she thought bitterly, she knew exactly why the ministry hadn't bothered teaching the children about anything the old wizarding families didn't approve of. They were too busy sucking up to the Malfoys, Crabbes and Zabinis out there.

"I know that, dear. I told you I understand. But we cannot just abolish the houses; they are the essence of Hogwarts! Do you understand what an uprising this would cause among the wizarding world?" Minerva looked at her with a fierce expression.

"Among the _British._" she replied. "Neither Durmstrang nor Beauxbatons have different houses. And they certainly wouldn't really care about Hogwarts changing its _traditions_. Do you know how Ron told Harry, before the sorting ceremony, that every single dark wizard ever was from Slytherin?" McGonagall looked as if she wanted to object, but Hermione went on. "Yeah, I know, that there are quite a few… _bad guys_", she bit back a few stronger expressions that were coming into her mind thinking of Pettigrew, "in other houses as well, and not all Slytherins are evil, of course. But they don't accept any half-bloods, let alone muggleborns among themselves, and maybe they just live up to the expectations everyone has of them. I mean, if I remember our own conclusions about Malfoy being the Heir of Slytherin and controlling the Basilisk back in our second year, and Harry's obsession with him in year six – we all have these images in our heads about the other houses and we don't bother to correct it, to get to know each other better, because of some old family feuds or this stupid house rivalry. Can we really let this happen? Maybe we missed some really good friendships here. Maybe we could have prevented our classmates, our supposed _friends,_ from turning to Voldemort and killing each other!" Her voice broke at this and tears began to well up in her eyes, as they did every time she thought about the losses, so she lowered her gaze.

This was really important to her, how could McGonagall not see this? Riddle had been a madman. But without support he wouldn't have been a thread to the world. There wouldn't have been so many unnecessary deaths. Fred, Lupin, Tonks, Moody, Dobby, maybe even Harry's parents and all their friends back then could have survived, if the world just hadn't been so full of hatred and prejudices.

McGonagall looked at here silently. Her eyes were warm and held something like… sympathy? Pity? Hermione couldn't read her expression and felt desperation slowly rising up inside her. She needed to convince her, her of all people.

"Who says that there won't be another one like Riddle?", she began with new force, "Maybe not today, not tomorrow, but as long as this pureblood ideology exists, if not out in the open, but in the privacy of families, as long as children are raised to believe they are better than others due to their _blood"_, she spit out. "How can we say that we really have defeated Voldemort?"

"We can't.", McGonagall answered softly, "It's simple as that. As long as his beliefs still exist, he will not vanish from this earth." Hermione eyes widened. So the headmistress really shared her conviction? She felt the semblance of hope in her chest. "But, Hermione, how do you want to achieve your goal? I think…" she hesitated. "_I think_ we could make muggle studies mandatory for all students. Don't get me wrong, this will be hard enough to enforce. But abolishing the houses? I cannot help you with this, dear." Hermione opened her mouth to launch into another speech, but McGonagall gestured her to listen. "There will be too much protest, and I'm not just talking about _pureblood_ families. I noticed that neither Mr. Potter nor Mr. Weasley is with you to support your proposals. There is a _tradition _of not only house cups, but Quidditch tournaments as well, as you surely remember. The sorting hat has a function. The ghosts will not approve of this reform. And even if the ministry would, the classes are small enough as they are. What would the families prevent their children from just sending them to another school? Without students this school would merely be an empty castle and I would be out of this job as fast as the Daily Prophet gets wind of this story."

Hermione bit her lip. So this was it? She had worked so hard on her plan, but without McGonagall's support she could never make it come true. She looked down on her hands, which were momentarily placed on the headmistress' wooden desk, twirling a quill around and around. Well, at least she had tried, she thought. Obligatory muggle studies, that was… a small achievement, but an achievement nonetheless, at least. It was just a thought that came up in this discussion, but she would take what she could get.

But did she have to go home and admit to her friends that they were right, that she couldn't change Hogwarts' system? Well, at least they would talk to her normally again. Harry and Ron had always been so proud to be Gryffindor. They had told her it was a bad idea, especially Ron was furious with her. His whole family was in Gryffindor, after all. How often had he told her? They wanted their future kids to follow in their footsteps, like it was _tradition_. Hell, everything was. The parchment and feather quills were _tradition_ because paper and pens would be too easy. The triwizard tournament was _tradition _because that wasn't dangerous _at all_. Enslaving house elves was _tradition_, after all they didn't know better and didn't _want_ their freedom, right. Marriage in your early twenties or even before that is so common, it's basically _tradition _because… but no, better not let your thoughts wander _there, _Hermione scolded herself. Focus on the task at hand!

"Hermione, I'm sure you have thought this through forever, after all you would never come to me without some elaborated plan in this head of yours." The corner of Hermione's mouth twitched. "Of course. Nothing else could be expected from you", the woman in front of her smiled warmly. "But again: _I_ can't help you with this, right now."

Hermione's head shot upwards. What did _that_ imply? Who else could…? But McGonagall interrupted her thoughts. "Look, if you really want to do this, you have to convince the old wizarding families. And although I hope that your friends will see reason sooner rather than later, I'm sure they've got plenty going on in the ministry as it is, and in the end they will most certainly support you, no matter what. The difficulties display those who don't have unlimited trust in you. I don't know how or when you wanted to approach this problem in particular, but if we're doing this, I need you to persuade some other people, people with influence, of this project. And as you're so keen on the idea of _community_, and that no one should be judged by his house or his family or his upbringing, this should be most convenient for you."

Oh Merlin, that sounded bad. Usually McGonagall wasn't one to dance around a subject, but was straight to the point. What was she getting herself into?

Her concern seemed to show on her face, as her former teacher gave her a reassuring smile. "We're doing this together, but on my terms. Maybe this means that you have to rearrange your plan a little bit, but if you can do this, I think we're on our best way. If you can make him participate in this, how difficult can the rest of them be?" If Hermione wouldn't know better, she was sure McGonagall had _winked_ at her. It was frightening.

"And with 'him' you mean…?"

* * *

><p>Yeah, well, McGonagall was right. If she could pull this, the rest of the wizarding world should be a piece of cake. Nibbling on her bottom lip she straightened her blouse for the tenth time. Then she brushed a non-existent strand of hair out of her face and waited impatiently. Right when she was about to knock again, the door opened, and to her surprise not a house elf, but the man of the house himself stood in front of her.<p>

She flinched, but regained her composure fast and opened her mouth to say something. Just what exactly? Hello, nice to see you? Don't get this wrong, but I want you to turn on your families beliefs and betray everything they stand for? She had prepared a speech, hadn't she? Yes, just how did it start again?

Thankfully – _thankfully, really?_ Hermione thought to herself – the blonde in front of her beat her to a reaction.

"Granger?" He asked surprised. Raising an eyebrow he looked down on her – literally as well as figuratively, she supposed. Annoyed, he continued "If I knew it was you I wouldn't have bothered to get up from the couch. We don't give to charity here, you know. Go bother someone else." And with that he turned around to leave her standing there, but Hermione grabbed his arm.

Seeing the look of distaste – but not disgust and that was a good sign, right?_ Riiight, _keep thinking that– on his face, she let him go in an instant, but quickly got out "Malfoy? I – I really have to talk to you, please? I need your help."

**A/N: So yeah, who would've guessed, right? ^^ It's my first published fic, but I hope you enjoyed it =) Updates are coming, dunno when, because work and university are pretty time-consuming, but I'll keep my work on this up. Feel free to criticise!**


	2. Mental

**AN: Second chapter, here it is. And the first follower, yeah :D I love you :*  
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Disclaimer: Don't own anything but the plot.

Malfoy sighed and eyed her up and down. "You need my help? Well, at least that's something new. What is it, then? And make it quick." He leaned upon the doorframe and crossed his arms, looking bored.

"What, because you were so busy right now lying on your couch?" Hermione replied. Wonderful, one sentence and it felt like they were in school all over again. This could get really funny.

"No, but taking a nap is a much greater pleasure than your presence being forced upon me." Of course, what answer had she expected? Merlin, why did talking to him always have to be so difficult? Couldn't they just talk on eyelevel like two normal people? He turned around again and went inside. "Coming in or what?" he asked and Hermione followed him quickly.

Malfoy Manor was not exactly like she remembered, it was much… brighter. Well, last time she was here Voldemort had turned it into his little fortress and she was slightly preoccupied with matters of _surviving_ and _escaping_ rather than focusing on her surroundings and the interior, which surely added a hinge of darkness to her memory. And she didn't get to see the entrance hall back then.

But even after the Manor was searched by aurors and disposed of (hopefully) all dark objects – and according to Harry and Ron there were tons of it in here – Hermione still felt the hint of panic rising up in her chest following her former classmate.

They were crossing a hallway and came by at least six bedrooms and two studs – seriously, what did you need so many rooms for? – before Malfoy decided to enter one that apparently was an office or a small library. The walls were covered by bookshelves and there were a lot of books on the desk, the windowsill and even on the floor, many of them opened. She had always imagined Malfoy as a tidy, almost pedantic, person if his outward appearance was anything to go by. But apparently he lived the chaos.

"Not that I want to keep you here longer than necessary – don't even touch the books, there's a system" Hermione quirked an eyebrow at this. A system? On the floor, really? But she couldn't say anything. Even if books were sacral to her, if she worked on something particular, there were tiles and stacks everywhere as well. She felt almost at home here, and apparently that was his aim, so she better was thankful of that. "But I figured you don't really want to discuss this in the living room since, after all, you know that room already, right?" he grinned at her.

Of course he had to bring this up at least once. A cold shiver ran down her spine. How could she ever forget that room, that night? Even after all this time she was still haunted by nightmares every now and then. The Cruciatus wasn't anything to forget easily. If she closed her eyes she could still feel the pain, hear her own screams. Involuntarily she grabbed her arm, where the word 'Mudblood' was still visible under her sleeve. She had been in St. Mungos with the hideous stigma, and after that she had spent a long time researching, but she hadn't found a way to erase it. If someone besides Voldemort deserved to die in the Battle it was Bellatrix. She was glad that Molly had done it, that the mad witch couldn't do any harm. She would have gladly killed her herself, and that was a really hard thought coming from her. Neville would've deserved his revenge as well.

A creaky sound interrupted her thoughts and Hermione jerked. It was just Malfoy who had placed himself in an old leather armchair and now gestured for her to take a seat as well. "And as glad as I would be to revive old memories with you, I don't want you to be more jumpy than you already are." She just stood there and tried to bring her breath under control again. "Hell, I won't kill you right here and now" he exclaimed, "when someone somewhere probably knows that you're here. I already had better opportunities to do this and I will find one again." Hermione eyed him cautiously. Of course she didn't think he would harm her right here, why did he have mention something like this? Did he want to annoy her that much? Did every conversation with him have to include death threats? She clenched her teeth and made an effort not to comment on it.

"Joking, Granger, ever heard of it?" Malfoy rolled his eyes. "Right, forgot who I'm talking to. Just relax. Sit down already, or keep standing, for Merlin's sake, and let's get this over with. What is so important that you had to come in person and couldn't just get a 'No' via owl?"

Even if that sounded slightly discouraging, she had discussed this with McGonagall and she had assured her he would see to reason. She wouldn't reveal everything at once, since he would definitely throw her out right here and now, this was just a try to get him accustomed to the idea of the coexistence of muggles and wizards. She sat down on a small, green couch that was even more incommodious than it looked. Not so cosy after all, she thought grimly, but at least fitting for this place. Well, on to business.

"I want to propose a deal" she started. At least her voice was steadier than she had hoped for. "I discussed some matters regarding Hogwarts with McGonagall and she thought it would be best to ask you for help."

"So why couldn't she come and ask me?" The Slytherin interrupted. This will be fun, Hermione thought. Just don't let it bother you, don't let it show. "The answer would most probably still be 'No', but –"

Ignoring him, she went on. "Your mother –" His face darkened at this and she felt at unease, but at least he shut up. She tried again "Your mother could get out of Azkaban a lot sooner if you agreed to this" After all, _she_ wasn't a death eater, and she had helped them as well, not unlike her son. At least before Voldemort's downfall family was most important to the Malfoys. 'My father will hear about this.' Merlin, she had always waited for Malfoy to tattoo this motto on his forehead. Not that she would do anything to make _that_ bastard's life any better. Hopefully freeing his mother was a good enough argument for him to agree. "And it would certainly help the reputation of the Malfoy family if you were cooperating with the _Golden Trio_ directly, not just the Hogwarts headmistress, don't you think?"

The scowl on her face mentioning the Daily Prophet's nickname for the three of them could easily rival Malfoy's. "Basically this proposal is about educating the Hogwarts students, minimizing prejudices. Roughly speaking, Counteracting Voldemort's influence." Hermione explained slowly.

That sounded innocently, good. Just remain vague enough for him to agree on the main conditions, she reminded herself. Everything else needed time, she knew that much. "Surely you are aware of the misunderstandings and the rivalry between pureblood and muggleborn witches and wizards, right?" That had to be the understatement of the century, he practically subsisted on them.

Malfoys eyes narrowed. "So what exactly do you want me to do? Just spit it out!" Great, that really burst with enthusiasm. But he didn't ask about his father, she noticed relieved.

"As I said" she continued, "we want to establish some changes in Hogwarts, starting with, but not limited to, muggle studies." Malfoy snorted at this. "We want this subject to be mandatory for all students, which will hopefully lead to a wider understanding of –"

"Yeah, you do that, great. You don't need my consent for that, so what? I don't suppose you need me to explain that topic to you?" Malfoy interrupted.

Hermione forced a smile. Okay, here we go. "Of course not, Malfoy, no. Not to _me_. But, and think of the benefits you could gain from this, in order to make other pureblood families feel more at ease with this idea, and a few others as well, I'm here to _suggest_ you teach this course with me."

If Hermione thought she had seen a death stare before, they all dulled against the expression now set on Malfoy's face. If looks could kill even _Harry_ wouldn't survive this. How could a face even turn this shade of purple? And Malfoy's in particular. Who would've thought his pale skin could even assume colour at all? Had he stopped breathing? He really looked ready to attack now and Hermione considered if she should reach for her wand. She knew it had been a bad idea to come here, to ask this of him. Why hadn't they at least met somewhere public? Because he most certainly would have never shown up, right. Was that a _growl_ coming from him? For real?

"You expect _me_" Malfoy asked in the lowest voice possible. "to teach _muggle studies_ with _you_?" He paused and eyed her up and down, before looking straight into her eyes. "Are you mental?" he asked slowly, curiously. Well, _that_ was a really good question. In fact, Hermione entertained this suspicion since McGonagall came up with this idea for the first time and she agreed to the plan.

But what better way was there to convince Malfoy of her actual goal than letting him convince others that muggles and wizards are in fact on a par? And in classes that held students of all houses at that? The perspective of a teacher varied significantly of that of a student after all. First they would work on educating the students, and then they would try to get the different houses to work together, build friendships, realise that no Sorting Hat, no family tree, but your action would determine who you really are.

So, there were much greater issues she had to discuss with the seething man in front of her than his future career, but it was crucial to the next steps. "Yes." She answered with an unsure, lopsided grin. "As for the second question: Quite possibly yes as well. But think about it! Your mother could live here in the manor if you agreed to this condition and to try spreading the idea of inter-house friendship and mutual understanding. And of course" she went on, "this would increase your image of being an _EX_-death eater and a credible and trustworthy member of society quite a lot if you so openly supported the cause of the Boy-Who-Lived." By now Malfoy not only looked murderous, but a little nauseous as well.

"You may have redeemed yourself by not selling us out to Voldemort, but as I have heard the name of the Malfoy family still took a hard blow. How is business going right now?"

Hermione knew the answer to that. The Malfoys were rich enough to keep up their standard of living for a few years, or her own standard for decades, but after his parents were both sent to Azkaban and he could escape such a fate only because of Harry's assertions the youngest Malfoy had to take business into his own hands and if Percy and his sources were right that did not go well. Without corruption and bribery and due to their bad reputation their partners backed out of their contrasts as fast as they could.

Malfoy ground his teeth.

"What were your plans anyway, if your parents had still been here? Dying of boredom? Look, there are more benefits to this. Slughorn's old. He won't be potions professor forever, I mean, he already came back from retiring. Give this a chance, take it serious and you could take over his job in a couple of years."

"Years?" Malfoy asked alarmed. "Just how long do you want me to do this?"

"Until society realizes that muggles deserve to live, that they aren't that different, until they accept muggle studies as an important subject to be taught."

Another snort from him. "So, assuming I agree." Could it really be this easy? No cursing, no screaming, no begging? He didn't throw a tantrum? This didn't seem like the spiteful, hotheaded teenage boy she remembered him to be at all. Well, it's been quite a time since that, still it was strange.

"You know I never took this sorry excuse of a class, right? I don't know _shit_ about it, so how do you expect me to –"

"I'll teach you." Hermione answered quickly with a bright smile. "Teaching children is new for me as well, you know? You'll be the perfect guinea pig for me." She laughed. "We're in the middle of April, so we have a few months to get you up and ready. I suggest we meet two times a week and –"

"I said we _assume, _Granger. Don't get your hopes up just yet. I get, why you want to _do_ this. Still, why do you want _me_ to in this? And, quite interesting as well, why are _you _doing this? Tell me honestly and I may agree."

"I don't understand" Hermione said precariously. "What does this have to do with anything?" Honestly, what did he care? "I want to prevent another Voldemort from growing, it's easy as that. I want you because of your reaction to the subject. You don't make anything of it, and this will be the reaction of almost every parent out there. If you support this as a pureblood and as a well-known and proud Slytherin, hopefully they won't object that hard."

"What about Zabini? Pansy? Or Nott? Yeah, I think he would do fine. Would probably be much more cooperative. Why me?" He asked curiously.

He wanted the truth? Why not? "I don't have anything to bribe them with." Hermione told him sternly.

"Yeah, right." He narrowed his eyes. "But you didn't answer my second question. Why are you doing this with me? I thought you had enough to do with this little house elf project of yours. Weren't you working on that in the ministry? Why going out of your way? Why not hiring another one to carry this out for you?"

"I want it to be done right." She snapped. "I want to be able to supervise everything directly. Answer questions. The ministry department can do without me for a while. I'll instruct them over the next months. And Hogwarts isn't the end of the world, you know? After all, they can still contact me if worst comes to worst."

This was it. Her official explanation. It's not like it weren't true, it _was_, it was just a bit… _incomplete_. But her personal reasons were nobody's business, much less Malfoy's. Moreover, she had cut down her hours and hadn't been in her office for weeks now, but worked from home or various hotel rooms instead and that went perfectly fine. Not that he would know. She could continue this for a while.

He didn't look very convinced by her arguments. The silence between them stretched and Hermione kept thinking about what to say to be able to break it, when he finally spoke. "Always the little perfectionist, hm? Okay, I'll talk to McGonagall then."

She looked surprised. She had heard right, hadn't she? But… he didn't press the spot. He didn't make any demands. He didn't react anything like she had expected. She was unsure of what to think of this. It was Malfoy, after all, there had to be a hitch somewhere. And if she herself was cunning enough to lure him into the trap that was her plan – in a metaphorical way, there was no harm coming from this, of course, she meant only good – but surely he as a _Slytherin_ would have some ulterior motives to – but no. Stop thinking in stereotypes, dammit! Hermione scolded herself. That is exactly what you want to get rid of for good.

So instead of expressing her doubts, she said "G-Great. That's great. You do that, great, yeah." Oh Merlin, shut up. Well, it _was_ great. Excellent, to be exact. Still not any sort of reason to emphasize it unnecessarily. She cleared her throat "So, can I expect you to show up next week?"

"Probably. I'll let you know." He groaned. Hermione cheered inwardly. She understood this as request to leave, but she had done it. Malfoy was as good as in. She grabbed her handbag and got up.

Arriving at the apartment – _her_ apartment, _home_, she reminded herself – she climbed over her stuff sprawled all over the place. At least that that was not still in the boxes stacked in the middle of the living room and sat down in the kitchen, the only room that was already in an acceptable state. She really had to do something about the chaos – with magical endless handbags, how could moving evolve into such a mess? – but first she had to write a letter to McGonagall about her quite successful conversation with Malfoy.

And after that she better got ready for dinner. Luna had asked her to go out with her and she hadn't been able to stall this forever, despite her best tries. Not that she didn't want to see her friend again, but she knew what was coming – the questions which she wasn't really sure how to answer. Which she wasn't sure she had an answer to. But it was Luna, so maybe she was lucky and the conversation went in another direction altogether. If she had to listen to her babbling about her latest journeys to confirm the existence of… whatever now, she would do that gladly to avoid anything else. She sighed. It was all going to work out, she told herself. Everything would be fine eventually. But she had to get started somewhere, so here we go, she told herself and grabbed some parchment.

**AN: This story won't only focus on Dramione, they do have a life beside their work together after all. So next chapter we'll learn more about what happened since the war ended and we'll have some interaction with other characters as well :) Personally, I don't think Ron and Hermione are made for each other, but there will be no Ron-bashing. He's a good and fun guy after all (at least Book-Ron, sorry, Rupert, it's not your fault, but the director's I think)**


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